Homeschool roll call

Sage, we unschool our children and one is only 3. One of the reasons we chose to homeschool is that we didn't want someone else's moral code 'imprinted' on our children - we want to give them the opportunity to be the person that they want to be, not what society moulds them to be, and choose their life for themselves. We see our role as parents to offer loving guidance and then to stand back and let them evaluate for themselves. We discuss all aspects of everything including religion though we're not a religious family. We are trying to bring our boys up to appreciate that all sorts of people live in this world and that that is a good thing, and that there's no place for prejudice. In fact we just had 3 baby ducklings hatch out, one of which was a mid-egg hatch (not ideal) and he/she had trouble even flipping over to stand up initially and has a neck that is slightly off to one side. It was a horrible day and we thought that we would have to cull the poor wee thing. But our almost 9 year old screamed out that we should practise what we preach and that the duckling deserved a chance. So we gave him/her 24 hours. Within that time he/she was feeding/drinking/running just like the others but just looks a bit different. A life lesson!

I homeschooled my oldest son, 19. He is completing his GED and has been blacksmithing for the last two years. He would like to go to Art School.

I have started homeschooling my younger son, 6, this past year. When all is done I will have homeschooled for 24 years?!!

Going to public school was some of the worst times of my life. Surrounded by a bunch of crap and I swear public school is as much of a zoo as it is a school. All of my friends where from recreational sport teams that I played on. I think if I was home schooled I would of been much better off than I am now, with the same exact social life, maybe even a better one. I'd like to try homeschooling out with my kids if I ever have them. Maybe a little to early for me to start thinking about that.

Bump.

I homeschooled my oldest until the second half of sixth grade when she got into a local charter school which is quite good for a public school. She's still there, now she is 14 and in 8th grade. They go outside every day even in winter, the school has gardens, a greenhouse, chickens and meat rabbits, and they have excellent science, math and writing programs. Even so, is rather have her home but she likes the school and does her work without complaint. She knows if she starts complaining or getting bad reports from school she will come back home!

I am homeschooling my twin preschoolers and the new baby too when he gets there. Even the charter school is far too much sitting and listening and not nearly enough action and doing. It's not the teachers' faults, it's the "standards" and requirements which force them into this developmentally inappropriate schooling.

On our farm my boys start "working" first thing. They dig and explore and take things apart and build new things. We have a couple of boxes of toys in the barn for emergencies (long stretches of really unpleasant weather) but mostly they play with whatever they find. Simple stuff. They stay occupied, playing, helping, or watching.

We have no tv, computer or video games at all for the little ones. We read books and tell stories. I follow a loosely Waldorf path, as that is my training and many Steiner ideas resonate with me. Charlotte Mason will come in as they get older. I aim for a rhythmic life of unschooling, with times of work and times of freedom.

An interesting note- I met a woman from Iran once at a playground and when I told her that I could send my daughter to school but I chose to keep her at home this woman was shocked. This idea that an opportunity at free schooling would be turned down did not fit into her world view.

My mother kept two of my siblings away from public school for a while. She was concerned with religious indoctrination and attempted to accomplish this by limiting their peer group to other kids with religious parents. I informally, home schooled my kids after supper and on weekends. That was more than enough for them.

They attended regular school. Now that they are adults, they don't want me teaching them things every minute. Both still call me regularly with academic questions but if we're driving somewhere, they don't want me to drone on about science, history... My oldest told me that when she was little, it seemed perfectly normal for leisure time to be spent in interactive dad lectures. Her friends thought her interest in many subjects was weird. One is a teacher and the other is on her way.

We unschool our two children aged 4 and 7. The have always been home except the oldest who went to daycare from 6-14 months and 5 weeks of horrible Spanish school

When he was 6 he spoke 3 languages almost fluently, knew math at 3rd or 4th grade level and loads of science, biology, zoology - yet the teacher said he "knew nothing" because he couldn't write cursive nor read in Spanish (his third language). So she loaded this little guy with 3-4 hours of homework every day

So we pulled him out - he is still learning far more than his peers in school. The permaculture experience adds to his interest in animals and he loves making videos with his dad. It also gives us a huge international network, and the home school/alternative education group here in Malaga is quite big, so our integration to the Spanish society is far better than it would have been had he been in school.

I wondered about the homeschooling group of permies. We have 3 kids so far and at 6.5, 4, and 1.5 they love being home and learning together. The 4 year old is helping the 6.5 year old to practice reading skills, and the 6.5 year old is tutoring his brother in fractions. They love working together and when the differences in their level of understanding can not be overcome, they take a brak to play with toys, or run in the 40 acres of forest we live on (Wit 4 other families).

Homeschooling (like homesteading and permaculture) is not for everyone, but it is for us. I am happy to have a bunch of people here to draw wisdom from. anyone have a great material/tool they used for homeschooling they want to share?

Here at ABC acres, in Hamilton MT, we are happy to welcome Riverstone school... a private home school entity offering a range of 'open the public' workshops and classes. One such class is a half-day Permaculture class taught by our very own ABC acres Farm Manager, Grant Shadden. You can visit the school directly at www.riverstoneschoolmt.com for more info.

We homeschool too!

We homeschool ours for a number of reasons. Our 5 year old is years ahead of kids her age in a lot of areas, but some of the standardized areas are currently a struggle for her. She is so absolutely brilliant in a lot of areas, but my experiences with traditional school and from my college training to be an educator tell me it would be rough on her until she reaches the right developmental level in those areas. Bonus that I get to help her with things at any given moment of the day and turn all sorts of things into little lessons.

My brother and I were both home-schooled 'till the age of 16 and then went to the Swedish equivalent of "high-school". Quite a legal battle for my parents to be allowed to do that. I remember sitting in a court-room at the age of 8. So far I think that the concerns that those against the notion of home-school harbour have been proven wrong by myself, and the other home-schooled children I know.

We have been homeschooling for 4 years. My son is in his final year. My daughter is at about a public school grade 8 level, more or less.

I looked into home schooling after hearing a program on the radio about it, when my son, who is now 32 yr., was two. I had to travel to Indiana, next door to Ohio, where I live, to find any one who was doing it at the time (1984). Like most things I get involved in, it was considered "fringe", "weird", and thought to be "illegal" to do so, when I began three years later. I home schooled my six children, on and off (due to family crises), and the older ones are doing very well. One is in college now on a completely funded "Honors scholarship" studying Computer Network Engineering, the other just graduated with the same degree, and a third is in graduate school for Art Therapy. Others are at home mothers raising my grandchildren (7 so far...). I am on my last one, my 15 yr. old daughter. I have learned that each child/student is different, so I could/should not use the same approach on each one, and even invested in different books and curriculum, depending on the student. One size does not fit all. I also learned that I was only a "facilitator" to nurturing what God has already put into them. I was released from the "burn-out" that commonly occurs among home-schoolers (especially beginning ones) when I learned who The Teacher really is. Home school has come a LONG way and everyone knows someone who is home schooling now. (The same for home birthing, which I also did). I hope to build a sustainable community that would include a Life Long Learning center, with a collection of wonderful resources, electronic and otherwise, studios, labs, production center, etc. etc. where education that is individually customized would be possible for everyone. I would base it on a co-operative home school model, where the parents are still the direct overseers of their children's education. What do you all think about that idea?

Yep, and more sure of our decision every day I look at the news

We homeschool too & love it !! Our 9 year old is so different from other kids .. & my oldest who doesn't live with me just started public high school & likes the social aspect but tells our youngest all the time to keep homeschooling as she was home schooled til she was 11 & had horrible things happen to her ... it's such a better way .. . love the resources here thank you !!

Not to be redundant, but we homeschool too! Actually, this is our first year with our 5 year old. We have two younger girls who will be joining him when they get a bit older. I love the philosophies of both Charlotte Mason and the Waldorf schools, which is a lot of reading, playing, nature and creativity. Its been a lovely, and somewhat exhausting time. We are in town trying our hand at as much homesteading as we can squeeze on to our small lot, which is a whole lot of learning in itself. I'm so excited that this thread was created and look forward to hearing all about your homeschooling experiences along the way!

We are also homeschoolers with a 4.5 year old and a 2.5 year old. We are just beginning more "formal" school stuff - "letter of the week", workbooks which our daughter seems to enjoy!, bi-lingual storytime at the library each week, etc. We have chickens and are currently developing hugelbeds on our 1/2 acre. Our daughter loves to go outside and dig with her Daddy! She also chose "feed chickens" as one of her chores for this week, so she is definitely learning and getting involved with farming, animal husbandry, etc. There are many homeschooling groups and resources in our area, but we haven't gotten too involved yet. We want to be sure that whatever we choose is a good fit for our kids and our entire family. I love the idea of the homeschool curriculum consignment shop! I think I will be looking into that more!

We have been homeschooling for 20 years (that's when my oldest wanted to learn to read). My oldest, 24, has finished college (without debt!) and the second oldest is in college. I still have three home: 15, 11, and 9. Their learning is tailored to their interests and ours. They are almost always with us and learn a lot just living with us and seeing the choices we make, hearing the books we read (we read aloud a lot - no TV), etc. It's extra work, especially when they are young, but worth it. By the time they are in high school, they can pursue their interests and education independently and your role becomes more that of a mentor.

We home schooled our kids all the way through high school and they both graduated from the Air Force Academy, they are fun to be with and can interact with all ages of people. They are both Captains now.

We also have made the decision to homeschool our children, ages 5 and not-quite-2. We have planned for a more formal "school time" format for at least this first year, as our children respond well to daily schedules.

I'm thankful for this book giveaway as I had not dug deep enough into the forum yet to find the homeschooling thread. I'm currently homeschooling/unschooling my children (ages 7 and 4). I have a lot of reading to do!

We are currently homeschooling 3 of our 4 kids. The oldest was homeschooled from 9-11 yrs old due to bullying and self-esteem issues. She chose to go back to public school in 5th grade and graduated high school last year. The current crop 'o kids are 10, 7, and 6 and are thriving! They were in public school, but our boy learns by hyperfocusing until mastery. Thus classroom transitions were an issue. After the last teacher (1st grade) said we would need to hire a lawyer to get him on an IEP or he would fall behind, we brought him home. It didn't seem fair to let him do all the hands-on, interest-based learning while his sisters had to suffer through worksheets, so they came home, too! Now DH supervises the learning while I go to my office job and plot learning paths on my lunch break.

We have been working with two other families on a home school co-op. We hire a primary teacher and an English teacher. The primary teacher speaks only Spanish. Math, science, reading, writing and history are all in Spanish. The English teacher covers all aspects of reading, writing and English language skills. Co-op member parents and grand parents also come in and do some lessons. We have been at this for 5 years now. The results have been fantastic. Beyond what I even thought possible.

If all the parents who truly cared about their kids education could break out of the public school paradigm (and do any kind of homeschooling) this country would have a massive resonance in 30 years time.

We homeschool our son, we started day one and we are in fourth grade now, he is so much better off than I was in fourth grade!

We are homeschooling too. I am a little jealous at how easily the kids learn in the context of everyday life. We are in an area rich with homeschool support and lot of interest in permaculture. I have recently started a homeschool blog but don't have much on it yet. http://www.theyellowwoodschool.com/

We're passionate unschoolers! Our two little girls (5 and 3) love spending their days in the garden, doing art projects, studying nature, writing and reading, creating, exploring. My 5 year old whispered to me as she went to bed the other night that she "loves learning". I couldn't be happier.

I started homeschooling in 1991, when it was still really weird, and homeschooled my 5 kids all the way through. I also worked mostly full time nights as an RN while doing it.

I hate the term "unschooling" ... got tired of hearing, "But how do they learn if you don't teach them anything?" : I much prefer "interest led learning." Whatever you call it, that's what we did. My kids are all adults now, and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

Fred Morgan wrote:We home schooled our kids part of the time. Our daughter went back to public school for high school because she was heading into hard science. Being so far ahead, she took a lot of AP courses and entered into WPI with sophomore standing at age 17, last year she finished her Phd in Physics.

These are the types of stories I love hearing!

More homeschoolers here!  We chose that path very early.  We've got three kids ages 6 - 10 and we are a relaxed, eclectic type family.  Although, I did try the DIY neo-classical method for a year.  While respectable, the method was too much for me.  Currently our days focus at least as much on chores as seat work, and have a lot of white space built in.    There's definitely structure to the day, but it's the practical sort, for productive and/or protective purposes.  Since we're in the middle of this portion of our program, we'll see how it unfolds from here.  Good to see other homeschoolers out there!

Yes! Homeschoolers here, too! Currently I have a freshman, kindergartner, and prek. It's crazy most days! We are eclectic schoolers with a lot of Charlotte Mason and a bit of Waldorf in there!!

I blog about nature studies sometimes! https://derbauernhofsite.wordpress.com/category/kids-on-the-farm/

We're in our second year of homeschooling. My two younger kids are five and seven. The seven-year-old is developmentally disabled and at about the same level as the five-year-old. She did two years of preschool and one in Young Fives in public school before I pulled her out. She wasn't making much progress in the public school, even with spending more than half her day in a special ed classroom.

My two older kids have grown up and moved away, but we had problems with the older boy in the public school too. He was also in special ed and ended up dropping out of public high school as soon as he was old enough. His only options, if he had stayed in school, were a worthless piece of paper saying he attended high school (not a real diploma, I can't remember what they called it), or he could have stayed in school until he was about 22 to get a real diploma. He didn't feel that it was worth it, so he quit.

I have three children with my oldest heading to college next year. They have never been in government or private schools. My wife has done an awesome job homeschooling them all these years. She does the majority of the work. I work a lot of hours so we can live on one income. Definitely worth it though. The sacrifices are worth it and I would do it again. My son has a full ride on an academic scholarship so homeschooling really does "work". Hope this encourages someone out there.

I'm currently looking to read up more on the pro's and cons of homeschooling versus going to a school. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Also, if you have any suggestions on where to get more information, I would love it.

Not sure I'll be able to actually 'home school' myself, as it's looking like I will have to be the primary breadwinner outside of the home. So I'm currently thinking about online school, and just wanting to hear people's experiences on the whole spectrum.

My daughter decided farmschool sounds cooler than homeschool! lol! A bit of our FARMschool shenanigans! A post about rabbits, our newest pair, Heritage Breeds, and more, wrote by my 14 year old daughter!

https://derbauernhofsite.wordpress.com/2017/01/14/the-rabbits-at-winklers-homestead-by-isabelle/

Marisol Dunham wrote:I'm currently looking to read up more on the pro's and cons of homeschooling versus going to a school. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Also, if you have any suggestions on where to get more information, I would love it.

Not sure I'll be able to actually 'home school' myself, as it's looking like I will have to be the primary breadwinner outside of the home. So I'm currently thinking about online school, and just wanting to hear people's experiences on the whole spectrum.

Hello Marisol. Are you in the US?? I don't think I could help much out of the country. Here in the US, online schools are plentiful. They can be private schools or public school online. Either way, I feel like they are both still not really homeschool. Also, neither appeal to me. The whole purpose of homeschooling my children is that I have control over their education. You would have to weigh the pros and cons carefully and decide.

Alicia Winkler wrote:

Marisol Dunham wrote:I'm currently looking to read up more on the pro's and cons of homeschooling versus going to a school. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Also, if you have any suggestions on where to get more information, I would love it.

Not sure I'll be able to actually 'home school' myself, as it's looking like I will have to be the primary breadwinner outside of the home. So I'm currently thinking about online school, and just wanting to hear people's experiences on the whole spectrum.

Hello Marisol. Are you in the US?? I don't think I could help much out of the country. Here in the US, online schools are plentiful. They can be private schools or public school online. Either way, I feel like they are both still not really homeschool. Also, neither appeal to me. The whole purpose of homeschooling my children is that I have control over their education. You would have to weigh the pros and cons carefully and decide.

Hi Alicia, I will be in the US by the itme bub is ready for school. He's quite young, not even a year yet.   I would love to hear more detail about those pro's and cons you listed for you. Also what your kids think, too, if they ever talk about it.

I actually meant the pros and cons of schooling, all methods, to see where you fit. Here is where my opinion lies-
Homeschooling (HS) gives me the the freedom and opportunity to teach my children subjects that are lacking in public schools (PS). My children participate in nature study, learn art, life skills, memorize scripture and poetry, for example. It allows me to gauge their interests, to see where extra attention may be required, and to evolve if something isn't working. We have the liberty to hone talents and discover interests we may not have otherwise.

PS restricted my daughter (she was in PS through half of 4th grade). Her creativity was squashed , she fell behind, because one person cannot teach 32 children and expect them to all learn the same. Bringing her home allowed her the time she needed to find a pace that worked better.

Having my kids at home means that my 6 yo spends 1-2 hrs a day in "class", instead of 7. It means my 4 yo can learn alongside my 6 yo. And it means that my 14 yo can spend a day reading Joan of Arc by Twain, do some Algebra, Write in her journal, then work on her rabbit business (which still counts as part of her school, though please don't think that is her schedule everyday. These are a few of her ratings and subjects right now; Herbal medicine (along with Human Anatomy), Algebra with an emphasis on Physics, Joan of Arc, Ivan Hoe, Merchant of Venice, Chaucer, Tennyson, US History, Bible, History of Art, etc....)

As far as online schools....If it is a PS online, it is nice that they are free, but you still have to follow rules for PS. For example, here in Indiana, HS students do not have to take standardized tests, but if you are enrolled in a PS online, you do. With any online school, your freedoms to choose what is best are gone. Teachers know best. Not the parent. This is something I wholeheartedly disagree with.

I hope this helps.

Oh! As for what my kids think, they love it! Isabelle has attended PS, so she knows she is much better off. We have homeschool groups we get together to have play time and field trips, so their education is as well- rounded as their socialization!